


Stranded Lullaby

by TheUnamazingTrashKing



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 06:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23410087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUnamazingTrashKing/pseuds/TheUnamazingTrashKing
Summary: Geralt and Dandelion take a boat out on the water, just to get away from everything for a little while. There isn't much more away you can get than the middle of nowhere, after all.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 5
Kudos: 45





	Stranded Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> I was listening to _Stranded Lullaby_ (hence the fic name) and _Dream Sweet in Sea Major_ by Miracle Musical if you want to listen in the background so you can vibe with me

It was late, the sun setting on the horizon, making the not so distant sea look purple in colour. It hadn't really been a thought out idea, but to be fair, they were too tipsy to think clearly. They simply saw an unmanned boat, one no one would miss for a few hours, and decided to see what the world looked like from a distance. Well, actually, Dandelion had seen a large ship first and insisted how wonderful a journey on one would be. Geralt had found the small fishing boat, cleared of any equipment or fish, and suggested it as an alternative. While it had been his idea, Geralt hadn't been difficult to convince. The sea salt breeze coming from the water was so light it barely picked up the waves at all along the shore, and the emptiness looked entirely still, and right now that's about what Geralt felt he needed. Something still and calm. Geralt helped Dandelion keep his balance as he stepped into the little boat with a hand on the man's upper back.

The two sat at either end of the boat, facing each other as was necessary to do in a rowboat. Geralt did the rowing, getting them away from the port full of ships. It was a little more difficult to avoid everything in the dark, especially while drunk, but he was doing better than a human would. He didn't hit anything, despite coming rather close at times. Dandelion pulled out his lute and plucked a few notes before deciding on a song to sing. It wasn't his boisterous call of attention, but a sweet low song. Something more akin to a lullaby than a performance. Without meaning too, Geralt had started to time the rowing to the rhythm of the song. The otherwise still water crashing in the perfect accompaniment of the bard's voice, never drowning it out. 

When they were far enough out, Geralt stopped rowing and rested to let himself listen properly to the bard's tune. A lovesick song. It fitted the emptiness perfectly. Slow, sweet, low, and full of distance. Two lovers separated by knowledge, as one came to terms with never being together and the other living with another as the song reached its end. 

They sat in silence for a moment, just the waves rocking the boat. Geralt's eyes wandered over the man in front of him. His eyes were glued to the sky, a smile on his face. His lute held preciously in his hands as if it were made of the most delicate thing in the world. To his right was the city they'd left behind, glowing in the distance with the candlelight from people's homes. To his left, endless water. The sun was dancing at the very edge of the horizon, and the last of the water's blackberry glint was sinking with it. 

Dandelion glanced down from the sky and the two made eye contact, which he quickly broke again as he directed his eyes over the side of the boat. "You can see the city's reflection, the water's so still." 

"You might even see the stars in it if we go out further." 

"Really? Should we?" Geralt considered the question. It was technically unsafe, but realistically the likelihood of anything happening to them was almost zero. He picked up the oars and rowed out further. He turned the boat so they were moving directly away from the city, and it framed Dandelion beautifully. The golden light spilled into the background surrounding the bard, cutting into the darkness. He'd been right about the reflection in the water too. It creased and wobbled from the moving water. It encapsulated him completely as if it weren't a distant city but Dandelion himself that was glowing with golden light. He rested his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand as he watched the world moving past him in the darkness. 

They stopped again shortly. "We should be far enough out that, when the water settles, we might see some stars in the water." 

"I hope so," Dandelion replied, smiling fondly and turning to look at Geralt. He picked up his lute again and started to play. 

Out there it really was different. The lullaby of his voice was practically otherworldly. Geralt wasn't religious, but he suddenly understood why so many people believed in something that was more than human that blessed them. If ever there was a blessing in the world for him, this might be it. These quiet moments, away from everything, with Dandelion singing just for them. He'd often wondered if Witchers were meant to have moments like this. He no longer cared. He had them, and he wanted a million more. If he had to steal them all away in underthought decisions then he would. He pushed away those thoughts, just wanting to enjoy the time he had. The black waves surrounding them and the spots of light that were showing up more clearly in its inky surface. It looked like fallen stars shining from the bottom of the sea. 

Dandelion's playing stopped. It wasn't abrupt, coming to a slow end as his fingers started to fumble. He laughed quietly, "It's gotten so dark, I can hardly see what I'm doing." Geralt knew him well, well enough to know he could probably play that lute out of tune, upside down, and in pitch-black darkness and still get every chord he wanted. Still, he put the lute back down on the bottom of the boat and Geralt didn't say anything. They sat for another moment -- floating in the black -- before Dandelion said, "I'm very glad we're friends." 

"Me too," Geralt agreed, although part of him had always wanted more. Maybe in a way, they were more. It wasn't everyone that asked him to row them out to see the stars on the water. Even fewer would sing for him while he did it. To even imagine asking Zolton to do something like this (because Zolton wasn't likely to ask) was ridiculous. It was too intimate a thing, in his mind at least. 

"We're so far away from everything," Dandelion continued, his voice sounding somewhat absentminded. Geralt nodded his agreement before remembering how poor his bard's sight likely was in the dark. He let out a soft hum to acknowledge he'd heard what was said and was listening. "It's almost as if nothing else exists." 

"Almost," Geralt agreed. He could still see the lights behind Dandelion but from his perspective, they probably seemed even further away from the world. He didn't have the grounding reality of the lamplight. 

"Do you suppose there would be any consequences to anything that happened out here?" 

Geralt wasn't really sure what that meant. There were plenty of consequences that would come about if something were to happen. If another ship or boat were out and got too close it could damage the ship. If drowners decided to make prey of them... well, he didn't hear any nearby, so it likely wasn't a problem. "I suppose that depends what happens." 

"Yes, I suppose," Dandelion agreed quietly. He sounded unhappy with that answer. "But I doubt that there's anything I could say that would bother anyone too much, with only you here. Unless I were to say something so drastic that you would commit it to memory beyond this night." 

Geralt felt a smile on his lips. "I doubt there are things you could say to me that would make me view you so differently that it would matter beyond this moment." 

Dandelion chuckled. "That sounds almost like a challenge." Geralt sighed and Dandelion laughed again. The bard leaned forward, his elbows resting on his thighs, hands rubbing together. He expected to next hear some tale of sexual conquest. The sort of thing he often didn't divulge too much detail despite his reputation and flippant nature towards it. Then he heard the catch in his breath as he paused. At first, Geralt had thought he'd missed some creature behind him with the way Dandelion changed from calm to anxious so quickly, but a quick glance and a brief listen confirmed he'd not missed anything. It was instead something internal that had brought this on him. 

Dandelion swallowed thickly and laughed, covering his shaky breath. "Nothing at all that I could say?" he repeated. 

Geralt was rather curious what made Dandelion so nervous, but was still sure he was right. "I doubt it very much." There wasn't a single thing in the world that Dandelion could say that would make him view this bard differently. What could he say, after all, that would take away the way he glowed? Not just on that night, but every time he had on one of those smiles that took up his entire face. Was there anything that he could say that would make him seem less like a foolish romantic that made Geralt want to be as foolish as him? No, there were no words that could taint the beauty of someone like his Dandelion. 

The words Dandelion settled on came out in such a soft whisper that they were almost drowned out by the movement of the water, but were still so intense they left Geralt breathless. Like a feather crushing a rock, _"You know that I'm in love with you, right?"_

There was a beat that Geralt felt he was meant to fill as he tried to gather enough breath to speak. Of all the things he'd expected -- the debauchery, the idiocy -- he'd had no preparation for this. He felt suddenly, entirely, aware of the depth of the ocean around him and the height of the sky above them. Mostly, just how small the two of them truly were in it all. There, in that little boat. An entire boat apart, and yet only a boat apart. There, just before him, the beating of Dandelion's heart as he held it in hand out to him. He wasn't sure what to do here. He really hadn't known that the bard was in love with him, so should he say so? But he couldn't just leave it at that, he would need to explain that he loved him too, right? But how could he do that? If he said it now, would Dandelion think it was some falsehood born of embarrassment or misunderstanding? Should he be poetic about it if confessing to a poet? Could he be? Probably not. Was that going to be a problem? He could hear his own heart beating in his ears and wondered for a moment if it was Dandelion's. In a way, he supposed, it was. 

"Wow," Dandelion said, breaking the silence in a voice much louder and more sure than before, but also notably more forced, "That was wild. It sure is late, huh? We should get back to shore. I could use another drink and I'm sure you could too, what do you say, hmm?" 

Geralt picked up the oars and started rowing wondering -- now that he'd just thoroughly fucked up that opportunity to tell Dandelion how he felt -- if he'd ever get another one. perhaps he would have to create his own and this time ensure that he said something first. He was still processing what had just happened. Dandelion had really told him he loved him. And he had not even given any response back, as if he'd frozen stiff as a board. 

The embarrassment of his terrible failure was settling into him as they made it back to the wharf. He docked the boat where they had found it and set to tying it in place as Dandelion got out. He finished quickly and set to follow when a feeling struck him. There was Dandelion, waiting, but once he stepped from the boat everything would have to continue. If he was still planted in the boat, perhaps, not all was lost. 

"Dandelion," He called, waving the bard to stand closer until he was against the edge of the wharf, standing over Geralt with a confused look. 

"Do you need help getting out?" 

"No, bend down." 

Dandelion seemed confused but did as he was asked. They were close now, but perhaps Dandelion felt they were too close as he laughed and made to stand back up almost immediately. Geralt grabbed the front of his doublet to keep him there. The speed of the action unsteadied his stance and the boat rocked with a threat, but Geralt paid it no mind as he brought the bard down a little further so he could kiss him. Dandelion pulled away again, and this time Geralt let him. He didn't go far though, still close as his eyes searched Geralt's face. As if he might find some sign of a cruel joke. The smile that spread on his face made Geralt sure he hadn't found one, and soon the bard's lips were against his again.  


Dandelion had succeeded in his challenge. Geralt saw the bard differently now for sure. Some changes were large; he shined brighter than ever before and he was somehow more convincing when asking Geralt to do something foolishly romantic. Some were much smaller; they could often now be seen walking hand in hand, and the sad lovesick tune to Dandelion's songs had become more optimistic. It was a change, but not an unwelcome one by any means.

**Author's Note:**

> Who wants to learn something about me that is (undeniably) useless and dumb? Great. I've been calling Dandelion Jaskier in the past X number of fics for plenty of reasons. 1) I watched the show before I did anything else and still haven't read the books. And 2 (and this is the big one) I only _today_ discovered dandelion is spelt like that, because my brain has insisted "It's either dandylion or dandilion" and I couldn't, for the ever-loving _life_ of me, figure out why the feck it was being underlined by my spell check thing that I routinely ignore, so I called him Jaskier bc less red lines makes me less annoyed.
> 
> Feel that I should stress that I'm playing the third game. Like I played it today. At no point did I actually read dandelion and have that _e_ sink into my thicc skull. ¬_¬ 
> 
> Whatever, this was a long ass AN rip sorry


End file.
